Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News

Today in the MHSAA: 10/25/18

October 25, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Division 3 Regional soccer was filled with highlights Wednesday from a matchup of two of the top-ranked teams, an upset coming from a meeting of two more and the first win ever at this level of the tournament for another surging contender.

1. Boys Soccer: Division 3 top-ranked Grosse Ile moved to 26-1 with a 3-0 Regional Semifinal win over No. 3 Lansing Catholic – Southgate News-Review

2. Boys soccer: No. 9 Ludington got past No. 5 Elk Rapids 3-2 in overtime in Division 3 – Ludington Daily News

3. Boys Soccer: Brooklyn Columbia Central downed Clawson in Division 3 for its first Regional win in program history – Jackson Citizen Patriot

4. Volleyball: Petoskey downed Alpena to clinch a share of the Big North Conference championship – Petoskey News-Review

5. Volleyball: Division 2 honorable mention Cadillac earned the other share in the BNC, downing Traverse City West – Cadillac News

6. Volleyball: St. Louis swept Pinconning to secure an outright title in the Tri-Valley Conference West – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

7. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 2 Bronson closed the regular season with a sweep of Division 4 No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip and No. 2 Mendon – Coldwater Daily Reporter

8. Boys Soccer: Paw Paw downed Grand Rapids Aviation Academy 5-3 in Division 3 – WWMT

9. Volleyball: Onaway won the Presque Isle County championship with a sweep of Rogers City – Alpena News

10. Boys soccer: Muskegon Orchard View moved on in Division 3 with a 5-2 win over West Branch Ogemaw Heights – MI Sports Now

Also of note …

Volleyball: From last week, Division 1 No. 4 Lowell clinched its first league volleyball title with a win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Grand Rapids Press

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Marquette swept Escanaba to claim the Great Northern Conference title outright – Marquette Mining Journal

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 4 No. 10 Rudyard finished its second straight perfect run through the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference with a sweep of DeTour – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 2 honorable mention Corunna completed an unbeaten title run in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Owosso Argus-Press